Posts Tagged ‘Gracie Ackerman’

Why would we want an organized Goddess religion when we know what religion has done to the world by causing inequality and wars? A Goddess religion could create a balance in society by being a fair and just religion that is equal; creating equalities and justice for all the people by the way it is practiced and by the way it’s dogmas or rules are formed to support all of humanity. The patriachial religions that exist today uphold a few men; by sex and sexual orientation. The patriarchial relgion particulary hates women causing great inequality and the war of the sexes as women and gays sexuality is judged as file by the following scriptures.

Leviticus – If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman,both of them have done what is detestable, they must be put to death.

Islam – don’t marry a women that are already married unless they are slaves that you stole in war

Hindu – Males aged 24 and 30 should marry females between the ages of 8 and 12

Judaism – A womanis a sack of excretment

Buddhism – Nuns have one third more rules to follow than monks in the vinaya-pitaka. The failed man becomes a woman in the next life.

Jainism – Women cannot achieve liberation without being reborn as men first.

Anyone who knows anything about religion can find passages like this riddled throughout patriarchial religions text or scriptures of multiple different religions that were created by men in the name of a male god. For thousands of years these religions that clearly teach hate and sexual repression have also created societies that act in tern. We see this hate and bigotry seeped into governments legislation and laws. If a religion existed that stood up against this religion’s bigotry we could create a more balanced and psychologically healthy world or society.

So my dear reader lets create it. First every religion needs deities; because The Goddess is about justice and balance she chooses to stand with her God, and their children and so we have The Divine Feminine, The Divine Masculine and all their creations, including all of nature. This is a religion based on seeing sex as sacred rather than as evil or sinful. This religion is based upon loving all that is natural including the needs and wants of the body. The body is seen as the sacred holy temple of the divine light of the soul. All races and sexual orientations are welcomed and loved in The Goddess Relgion as sacred. The Goddess Religion respects that all people have a different lens that they understand the divine through and so many God and Goddess archetypes and templates are given symbols, rituals and scriptures to help us to all rise towards our divine nature; towards the highest aspects of one’s own specific divinity or soul.

Unlike the patriarchial religions that preach women’s bodies, wombs, menstruation, breastfeeding, childbirthing and ovulation as dirty and unclean; The Goddess Religion will honour the miracle and the wisdom in the life and death giving powers of the feminine body. Saying ” There is power in the blood,” will take on a new meaning. The Divine Masculine and the Divine Femine will come together once more in sacred worship. The war of the sexes will end when sex is sacred and bodies are not dirty but of love and light.

In The Goddess Religion no one will be put above others as it will be a cirlce of light rather than a ladder of success to climb in the wordly sense of powering and ego tripping above others; those who are self taught, and wise seekers will all be able to lead and organize the worship.

It will not be a place of business or of social competition as this will take away from the zen, peace, manifesting and inner soul work. It is a place were all are welcome and filled with energy not stripped of it due to wordly ventures.

Being that the church has to be established the first services would be held in rented halls; community buildings or private homes, backyards and parks. The problem with establishing the religion is getting enough people together who are brave enough to stand against the social stigmas and who have the will power to put in the time and effort to organize and execute. We have to understand that the main force behind the patriarchial religions was to control and conquer masses of peole and it still is the main force behind it. The force behind The Goddess Religion is love and acceptance or true spiritual healing vs world domination; so would that be enought to get people together to actually make it happen?

This is an organized model of a Goddess Gathering or Service

Music and singing to welcome the worshippers – they all say together under the priestess and priest ” We all come together in the Divine Light of the Eternal Mother and Father ” as this is a unification and a invocation or invitation that the God/ Goddesses join us

There would then be introductions and hugs and announcements of births/deaths/engagement/weddings/birthdays etc.

More music or even a solo performer and then there would be prayers and a guided meditation.

There would be writing and or scriptures written of the specific God or Goddess that would be a part of the specific spiritual lesson or ritual of the service. There would be symbolisms used and those making living testimony of their own spiritual experiences towards the message or meaning of the God/Goddess choosen for the worship.

More praying or specific ritual towards that diety as to close the service

An offering would then take place to support the church

The worshippers would then be sent off with more singing and music to be dismissed towards coffee and refreshments for more unformal socializing afterwards.

The services would be held in the evening of Friday 13 as this is the day of The Goddess or the feminine. There would be specialized gatherings for new and full moon rituals as well as astrology and other spiritual but not patriarchial beliefs would be included in much of the worship and ritual.

Same sex marriages would take place and open sexual relationships would not be judged. Misogyny, emasculating and child abuses would not be tolerated as all members of the church would be treated with respect and equality.

” Do unto others as you would have done unto you.” would still stand as valuable spirituality.

Of course the reality is that this religion doesn’t exist today; we still have male religious leaders giving women allowances over their bodies like ” It’s ok to breastfeed discreetly in church but don’t have abortions or use birth control.” we still have churches that refuse to let women minister and churches that refuse to include gay and lesbian people. But wouldn’t it be wonderful if this relgion existed and you could taylor God and your worship of God/Goddess to be just as unique and special as you are? It would be lovely to see us all in heaven.. but what if we created some heaven on earth?

The simplified definition of a Goddess is a woman who lives her life in balance.

The opposite of a Goddess is a woman who is a martyr. A martyr is someone who suffers for others. A woman in her Goddess or who has brought her Inner Goddess to the surface ” made conscious of the fact that she deserves love and respect ” refuses to allow herself to be used or abused. She isn’t going to attempt to save others who are not worthy of her time or energy; she will not give herself or time to others who take her for granted.

A Goddess understands that she needs to fill her metaphorical cup first to overflowing before she can nurture others with her love and time. A Goddess knows that she deserves the first sip of her cup of love; simply because she must love herself first to truly love those around her.

We see society making women into martyrs by socializing women into being nice girls that give and give and give until they are totally depleted, bitter, frustrated { including sexually frustrated } and angry.. an unheard anger that can simmer under the surface as rage.

I have been researching other authors or bloggers post about how they believe a Goddess should be ” She would walk with her heart fully open. She should be full of grace and sweetness. She should give unconditional love. She should be very beautiful. She should always be forgiving. She should be giving always. She should wear light make up. She should look natural. She respects herself by not having sex with multiple partners as she is saving herself for The Divine Masculine man.” etc.. etc.. these so called Goddess attributes or characteristics are not of the Goddess archetype but rather of the Saint or Martyr archetypes .. The Goddess would be considered to be more hedonistic as she has an appetite for pleasure. Yes she is compassionate, loving and beautiful within the right context.. but she is also assertive, strong, powerful and a force to be reckoned with. We must also reason that beauty is in the eye of the beholder .. and so the Goddess is analysed into or organized into multiple templates of archetypes…because yes that is how complicated womanhood is.. she is the trinity; The Maiden. Mother and Crone.. Daughter, Mother and Grandmother.. and she is also

Mawu or Gaia – Mother Earth.. all that is natural

Artemis – Guardian.. huntress

Ishtar – Sacred Whore, lover, Mother and Savior

Sophia – Holy Spirit, wisdom and female God

Freyja – Female Warrior

Kali – The Beginning and the End, the infinite of death and life. The Destroyer!

Maat – Justice and fairness; the Universal Law

Bast – Independent and vengeful

Isis – Mother of Creation and Culture

Vesta – Domesticated house wife

Venus – Love, lust and beauty or hedonist

A woman in her Goddess is authentically who she is with out apology, she is her own beauty in it’s unique form; she is an individual. A Goddess has learned her lessons from the Crone aspects of her own psyche..from the Baba Yaga within her, that has shown her the world is full of beauty and ugliness.. that a wise woman doesn’t leave her heart open to strangers.. first she tests them with riddles and waits upon their responses and actions.. in other words.. you have to earn her total trust..and because she is wise to the ways of the world by trusting her own intuition she trust herself above all others.

As you see it has very little to do with attracting men.. that was another post that I read written by a man. She isn’t enlightened, awakened or walking in her Goddess for a man as his approval isn’t needed..and that is essence is a true Goddess.. Your approval isn’t needed!

A Goddess isn’t ashamed of her body, or her sexuality, she doesn’t hide or make small.. she isn’t here to save your ass.. or to entertain men’s fancies.. she is here to save her own ass. The Goddess will not carry your cross ” Your inner baggage.” nope..she will set it down beside you and leave you to it while she continues on her own path of spiritual enlightenment.. she isn’t Christ or a Saint .. she is Goddess..

She has sex the way she wants to with whom she wants to, and spends her time the way she wants to with out feeling any martyr guilt.. why should she; that’s your shit?

She values herself by knowing her time is valuable so don’t count on taking up space in her head either.. she has better things to do. She knows the value of the moment.

So as you see this is a very realistic definition of a Goddess.. and I think really one of the only true definitions that you will find online..that isn’t flaky and hokey.

Imagine a world were women stopped allowing the world to use them? A world were women’s time was just as valuable as a man’s time? Imagine the balance outside in the world if it was within each and every woman? Imagine her taking time for self care and nurturing? Imagine women satisfied in and out of the bedroom? What a happy world this would be.. but it starts with women drawing boundary lines..it starts with women saying ” No! I don’t have endless time and energy to give away.. I am saving some of me for me!” We would all be better off.

Of course we need men to balance their inner Goddess so that she can be a God too.. it’s perfectly acceptable for men to nurture themselves by expressing and exploring their inner emotional worlds. So as you can conclude being of The Divine Masculine and Feminine simply means to balance your inner world or archetypes { Anima and Animus } to find inner peace or enlightenment… this isn’t just flaky spiritual stuff, this is psychology..

So to those who put on the mask of being enlightened .. who call themselves Goddess of this that or the other, or Shaman so and so.. have you really done the inner work?

This isn’t just about just being pretty or sexy .. this is about healing yourself to heal the world..

It all starts within ..as Carl Jung said ” He who looks outside of himself dreams.. he who looks within awakens.”

That is the path of Gods and Goddesses.

You can find my book ( The Goddess an Expression of the Divine Feminine ) on Amazon.ca under Gracie Ackerman

To the point – Both of these movements are about sexual liberation and gender equality.

Free the Nipple is an equality movement focused upon the double standards regarding the censorship of female breasts started by activist and filmmaker Lina Esco.[1] The campaign is not a crusade that exclusively advocates for women to bare their chests at any and all given times; rather, it seeks to strip society of its tendencies toward the sexualization of the female upper body, addressing hypocrisies and inconsistencies in American culture and legal systems that enforce its taboos. Ultimately, the campaign resolves to decriminalize female toplessness in the US and empower women across western nations in a greater effort toward global gender equality.

Of course not every woman wants to go topless were men can go topless; like the beach.. but not every man wants to take off his shirt either.. and that’s called freedom of choice.

Many old school feminist bash the movement because they have been taken in by sexual shaming and so they unknowingly shame their own sex by believing if a woman is sexy or sexual she cannot be professional, moral, ethical or taken seriously; because she is using her sexuality to get male attention.. they believe feminist need to minimize their sexuality to take on the stereotype of what a feminist looks like.. to be taken seriously..but that is exactly why women’s equality has stalled out. The new feminine/feminist movement promotes that BEING SEXY IS NOT A CRIME. The double standards promote that the world’s morality rests on the control of the womb.. or women’s sex..the over sexualization of women and girls is brought on by repression and objectification..the fine balance of natural sexuality becoming unbalanced by the polar opposites.. natural sexuality is body positive.. not sexual shaming or making women into sex objects to be bought and sold by a male based society.. an example of the double standards are.. men who have many sex partners are studs.. women who do are sluts.. men are encouraged to loose their virginity while women are made to feel dirty, or to have fallen from grace when they become sexually active.

Chris was very professional and easy going; he made me quite comfortable. We wanted to tell a story with these images; a story of natural sexuality, innocence and sensuality. We took these images first thing in the morning of the Summer Solstice.. I felt very much like Mother Nature .. It was a spiritual and artistic experience. Chris and I are both passionate artists.. we really enjoyed every second of the shoot.. even when the parks keepers seemed to be worried about what we were doing; but like true artist we kept shooting anyway. The water was very cold, but there were few people to worry about.. we saw eagles, deer and hawks.. it was a beautiful country morning. The images were shot at Bertram Creek Regional Park Kelowna BC Canada.. of course I was in my legal rights to go topless..but most people in Kelowna are not ready for that..it’s a repressive, conservative community…but that is why we needed to do this.

I am the country girl that decides to challenge social taboos and go for a swim topless.. just like every man has a right to do. The images are meant to show natural sexuality..sensuality and playfulness.

I know I will get a lot of hate from my local community for doing this.. I always do. People are really afraid of change and evolution.. but religion is outgrowing it’s usefulness to society.. traditions are now prejudices that cause inequality..

I hope to enlighten my community..but .. ” The truth will set you free but first it will piss you off ” ~ Gloria Steinem

You can find my book at this link http://bookstore.balboapress.com/Products/SKU-000576933/The-Goddess-an-Expression-of-the-Divine-Feminine.aspx

This review is from: The Goddess, an Expression of the Divine Feminine (Kindle Edition)

The Goddess, an Expression of the Divine Feminine by Gracie Ackerman

The author speaks intimately and directly from her personal experience as an warm, sensitive, intellectual, sensual woman. As a daughter, a wife, a mother and a friend, she takes us through a journey of appreciating ancient sacred mythologies in a way that no academic (or man) could ever make accessible. She provides a first-hand account of her life through a sacred lens.

Gracie Ackerman delicately interweaves the highly practical and sometimes brutally pragmatic real world experiences of abuse, betrayal, self-awareness, struggle and liberation, with the poetic and divine insights into the practical application of ancient wisdom. The author weaves the ancient wisdom and her practical wisdom with such seamless ease that it is impossible to separate the two. Through the stories, questions, evocative poetry and sublime photographs, the ancient and modern are woven into one.

The combination of weaving the deeply personal with the sacred roots of mythology is in direct contrast to and challenges the plastic, commercialised, over-sensationalised, under-felt world of pornography and commercialisms that pervades every corner of our new world.

Not since I read the “The Female Eunuch” and “The Whole Woman” by Germain Greer, “The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett, “The Second Sex” by Simone de Beauvoir or “Revolution from Within” by Gloria Steinem have i been so deeply touched by such an authentic resonance and inspiration as Gracie Ackerman’s journey into the true liberation of female sexuality.

In a time of increasing polarities, where both the Christian extreme right and the extremist Islam fundamentalists try to assume control of the media and the minds of our young, this book could not have been better timed. It rises above the noise of religious politics and dogma to an sacred space where both men and women can rediscover their deepest divine power.

Gracie Ackerman introduces us to a trusted space where men can learn to love what is missing most in their lives. where mature women can learn how to access their rich inner power of sensuality without guilt or shame and where young girls who are coming of age, can learn how to see through the lies that could prevent them from being in touch with their sacred sexuality and power of the divine goddess within.

DISCLAIMER: The content of this blog is not intended to create libel, defame or cause harm to anyone, thing or organization the writer has written about. This blog is solely the opinion and thoughts of the writer. The writer intends no harm to the subjects as these are the interpretations of the facts as seen by the writer; but they are not absolute.